Appendix A

DRAFT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE

WATER QUALITY CONTROL PLAN

FOR ENCLOSED BAYS AND ESTUARIES PLAN

PART 1: SEDIMENT QUALITY

January 28, 2011

i

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

I. INTENT AND SUMMARY ....................................................................................................1

A. Intent of Part 1 of the Water Quality Control Plan for Enclosed Bays and Estuaries (Part 1)..........................................................................................................1

B. Summary of Part 1........................................................................................................1

II. USE AND APPLICABILITY OF SQOS.................................................................................1

A. Ambient Sediment Quality ............................................................................................1

B. Relationship to other narrative objectives .....................................................................1

C. Applicable Waters.........................................................................................................2

D. Applicable Sediments ...................................................................................................2

E. Applicable Discharges ..................................................................................................2

III. BENEFICIAL USES .............................................................................................................2

IV. SEDIMENT QUALITY OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................3

A. Aquatic Life* – Benthic Community Protection..............................................................3

B. Human Health ..............................................................................................................3

C. Wildlife and Resident Finfish.........................................................................................3

V. IMPLEMENTATION FOR ASSESSING BENTHIC COMMUNITY PROTECTION...............3

A. MLOE Approach to Interpret the Narrative Objective ....................................................3

B. Limitations ....................................................................................................................4

C. Water Bodies................................................................................................................4

D. Field Procedures ..........................................................................................................4

E. Laboratory Testing........................................................................................................4

F. Sediment Toxicity .........................................................................................................5

G. Benthic Community Condition.......................................................................................6

H. Sediment Chemistry .....................................................................................................7

I. Interpretation and Integration of MLOE.........................................................................9

J. MLOE Approach to Interpret the Narrative Objective in Other Bays and Estuaries ....................................................................................................................11

VI. IMPLEMENTATION FOR ASSESSING HUMAN HEALTH, WILDLIFE AND RESIDENT FINFISH PROTECTION..................................................................................13

A. Human Health ............................................................................................................13

B. Wildlife and Resident Finfish ......................................................................................13

VII. PROGRAM SPECIFICOF IMPLEMENTATION..................................................................14

A. Dredge Materials ........................................................................................................14

B. NPDES Receiving Water and Effluent Limits ..............................................................14

C. Exceedance of Receiving Water Limit ........................................................................14

D. Receiving Water Limits Monitoring Frequency............................................................15

E. Sediment Monitoring...................................................................................................16

F. Stressor Identification .................................................................................................18

G. Cleanup and Abatement .............................................................................................20

H. Development of Site-Specific Sediment Management Guidelines...............................20

ii

LIST OF TABLES Page

Table 1. Beneficial Uses and Target Receptors .........................................................................2

Table 2. Acceptable Short Term Survival Sediment Toxicity Test Methods ................................5

Table 3. Acceptable Sublethal Sediment Toxicity Test Methods ................................................5

Table 4. Sediment Toxicity Categorization Values .....................................................................6

Table 5. Benthic Index Categorization Values............................................................................7

Table 6. Category Score Concentration Ranges and Weighting Factors for the CSI ..................8

Table 7. CA LRM Regression Parameters .................................................................................8

Table 8. Sediment Chemistry Guideline Categorization Values..................................................9

Table 9. Severity of Biological Effects Matrix............................................................................10

Table 10. Potential for Chemically Mediated Effects Matrix ......................................................10

Table 11. Station Assessment Matrix .......................................................................................11

Table 12. Tools for Use in Evaluation of LOEs.........................................................................12

Table 13. Numeric Values and Comparison Methods for LOE Categorization..........................12

Table 14. Station Assessment Matrix for Other Bays and Estuaries.........................................13

Table 15. Minimum Number of Measured Exceedances Needed to Exceed the Direct Effects SQO as a Receiving Water Limit..................................................................15

LIST OF FIGURES Page

Figure 1. Waterbody Assessment Process...............................................................................24

Figure 2. Point Source Assessment Process ...........................................................................25

ATTACHMENTS

Attachment A. List of chemical analytes needed to characterize sediment contamination exposure and effect. ................................................................................................26

Attachment B. Station assessment category resulting from each possible MLOE combination .............................................................................................................27

1

I. INTENT AND SUMMARY

A. INTENT OF PART 1 OF THE WATER QUALITY CONTROL PLAN FOR ENCLOSED BAYS AND

ESTUARIES (PART 1)

It is the goal of the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) to comply with the legislative directive in Water Code section §13393 to adopt sediment quality objectives (SQOs). Part 1 integrates chemical and biological measures to determine if the sediment- dependent biota are protected or degraded as a result of exposure to toxic pollutants* in sediment and in order to protect benthic* communities in enclosed bays* and estuaries*, human health, wildlife, and resident finfish. Part 1 is not intended to address low dissolved oxygen, pathogens or nutrients including ammonia. Part 1 represents the first phase of the State Water Board’s SQO development effort and focuses primarily on the protection of benthic* communities in enclosed bays* and estuaries*. The State Water Board will continue to refinehas committed in the second phase to the refinement of benthic community protection indicators for estuarine waters and the development of an improved the approach to address sediment quality related human health risk associated with consumption of fish tissue.

B. SUMMARY OF PART 1

Part 1 includes:

1. Narrative SQOs for the protection of aquatic life.

2. Narrative SQO for the protection of and human health.;

32. Narrative SQO for the protection of wildlife* and resident finfish*.

24. Identification of the beneficial uses that these objectives SQOs are intended to protect.;

35. A program of implementation for each SQO that contains:

a. Specific indicators, tools and implementation provisions to determine if the sediment quality at a station or multiple stations meets the narrative objectives;

b. A description of appropriate monitoring programs; and

c. A sequential series of actions that shall be initiated when a sediment quality objective is not met, including stressor identification and evaluation of appropriate targets.

46. A glossary that defines all terms denoted by an asterisk.

II. USE AND APPLICABILITY OF SQOS

A. AMBIENT SEDIMENT QUALITY

The SQOs and supporting tools shall be utilized to assess ambient sediment quality.

B. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER NARRATIVE OBJECTIVES

1. Except as provided in paragraph 2 below, Part 1 supersedes all applicable narrative water quality objectives and related implementation provisions in water quality control plans (basin plans), to the extent that the objectives and provisions are applied to protect bay or estuarine benthic communities, wildlife, and resident finfish from toxic pollutants in sediments, and humans exposed to contaminants through consumption of fish and shellfish.

2

2. The supersession provision in paragraph 1. above does not apply to existing sediment cleanup activities where a site assessment was completed and submitted to the Regional Water Board by February 19, 2008.

C. APPLICABLE WATERS

Part 1 applies to enclosed bays1 and estuaries2 only. Part 1 does not apply to ocean waters* including Monterey Bay and Santa Monica Bay, or inland surface waters*.

D. APPLICABLE SEDIMENTS

Part 1 applies to subtidal surficial sediments* that have been deposited or emplaced seaward of the intertidal zone. Part 1 does not apply to:

1. Sediments characterized by less than five percent of fines or substrates composed of gravels, cobbles, or consolidated rock.

2. Sediment as the physical pollutant that causes adverse biological response or community degradation related to burial, deposition, or sedimentation.

E. APPLICABLE DISCHARGES

Part 1 is applicable in its entirety to point source* discharges. Nonpoint sources* of toxic pollutants are subject to Sections II, III, IV, V, and VI of Part 1.

III. BENEFICIAL USES

Beneficial uses protected by Part 1 and corresponding target receptors are identified in Table 1.

Table 1. Beneficial Uses and Target Receptors Beneficial Uses Target Receptors

Estuarine Habitat Benthic Community/finfish/wildlife

Marine Habitat Benthic Community/ finfish/wildlife

Commercial and Sport Fishing Human Health

Aquaculture Human Health

Shellfish Harvesting Human Health

Rare, Threatened, or Endangered Species finfish/wildlife

Preservation of Biological Habitats of Special Significance

finfish/wildlife

Wildlife Habitat wildlife

Spawning Reproduction and Early Development finfish

1 ENCLOSED BAYS are indentations along the coast which enclose an area of oceanic water within distinct

headlands or harbor works. Enclosed bays include all bays where the narrowest distance between headlands or outermost harbor works is less than 75 percent of the greatest dimension of the enclosed portion of the bay. This definition includes, but is not limited to: Humboldt Bay, Bodega Harbor, Tomales Bay, Drakes Estero, San Francisco Bay, Morro Bay, Los Angeles Harbor, Upper and Lower Newport Bay, Mission Bay, and San Diego Bay.

2 ESTUARIES AND COASTAL LAGOONS are waters at the mouths of streams that serve as mixing zones for fresh

and ocean waters during a major portion of the year. Mouths of streams that are temporarily separated from the ocean by sandbars shall be considered as estuaries. Estuarine waters will generally be considered to extend from a bay or the open ocean to the upstream limit of tidal action but may be considered to extend seaward if significant mixing of fresh and salt water occurs in the open coastal waters. The waters described by this definition include, but are not limited to, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as defined by Section 12220 of CWC, Suisun Bay, Carquinez Strait downstream to Carquinez Bridge, and appropriate areas of the Smith, Klamath, Mad, Eel, Noyo, and Russian Rivers.

3

IV. SEDIMENT QUALITY OBJECTIVES

A. AQUATIC LIFE* – BENTHIC COMMUNITY PROTECTION

Pollutants in sediments shall not be present in quantities that, alone or in combination, are toxic to benthic communities in bays* and estuaries of California. This narrative objective shall be implemented using the integration of multiple lines of evidence (MLOE) as described in Section V of Part 1.

B. HUMAN HEALTH

Pollutants shall not be present in sediments at levels that will bioaccumulate in aquatic life to levels that are harmful to human health in bays and estuaries of California. This narrative objective shall be implemented as described in Section VI.A of Part 1.

C. WILDLIFE AND RESIDENT FINFISH

Pollutants shall not be present in sediment at levels that alone or in combination are toxic to wildlife and resident finfish by direct exposure or bioaccumulate in aquatic life at levels that are harmful to wildlife or resident finfish by indirect exposure in bays and estuaries of California. This narrative objective shall be implemented as described in Section VI.B of Part 1.

V. IMPLEMENTATION FOR ASSESSING BENTHIC COMMUNITY PROTECTION

A. MLOE APPROACH TO INTERPRET THE NARRATIVE OBJECTIVE

The methods and procedures described below shall be used to interpret the Narrative Objective described in Section IV.A. These tools are intended to assess the condition of benthic communities relative to potential for exposure to toxic pollutants in sediments. Exposure to toxic pollutants at harmful levels will result in some combination of a degraded benthic community, presence of toxicity, and elevated concentrations of pollutants in sediment. The assessment of sediment quality shall consist of the measurement and integration of three lines of evidence (LOE). The LOE are:

• Sediment Toxicity—Sediment toxicity is a measure of the response of invertebrates exposed to surficial sediments under controlled laboratory conditions. The sediment toxicity LOE is used to assess both pollutant related biological effects and exposure. Sediment toxicity tests are of short durations and may not duplicate exposure conditions in natural systems. This LOE provides a measure of exposure to all pollutants present, including non-traditional or unmeasured chemicals.

• Benthic Community Condition—Benthic community condition is a measure of the species composition, abundance and diversity of the sediment-dwelling invertebrates inhabiting surficial sediments*. The benthic community LOE is used to assess impacts to the primary receptors targeted for protection under Section IV.A. Benthic community composition is a measure of the biological effects of both natural and anthropogenic stressors.

• Sediment Chemistry—Sediment chemistry is the measurement of the concentration of chemicals of concern* in surficial sediments. The chemistry LOE is used to assess the potential risk to benthic organisms from toxic pollutants in surficial sediments. The sediment chemistry LOE is intended only to evaluate

4

overall exposure risk from chemical pollutants. This LOE does not establish causality associated with specific chemicals.

B. LIMITATIONS

None of the individual LOE is sufficiently reliable when used alone to assess sediment quality impacts due to toxic pollutants. Within a given site, the LOEs applied to assess exposure as described in Section V.A. may underestimate or overestimate the risk to benthic communities and do not indicate causality of specific chemicals. The LOEs applied to assess biological effects can respond to stresses associated with natural or physical factors, such as sediment grain size, physical disturbance, or organic enrichment.

Each LOE produces specific information that, when integrated with the other LOEs, provides a more confident assessment of sediment quality relative to the narrative objective. When the exposure and effects tools are integrated, the approach can quantify protection through effects measures and also provide predictive capability through the exposure assessment.

C. WATER BODIES

1. The tools described in the Sections V.D. through V.I. are applicable to Euhaline* Bays and Coastal Lagoons* south of Point Conception and Polyhaline* San Francisco Bay that includes the Central and South Bay Areas defined in general by waters south and west of the San Rafael Bridge and north of the Dumbarton Bridge.

2. For all other bays and estuaries where LOE measurement tools are unavailable, station assessment will follow the procedure described in Section V.J.

D. FIELD PROCEDURES

1. All samples shall be collected using a grab sampler.

2. Benthic samples shall be screened through:

a. A 0.5 millimeter (mm)-mesh screen in San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.;

b. A 1.0 mm-mesh screen in all other locations.

3. Surface sediment from within the upper 5 cm shall be collected for chemistry and toxicity analysies.

4. The entire contents of the grab sample, with a minimum penetration depth of 5 cm, shall be collected for benthic community analysis.

5. Bulk sediment chemical analysis will include at a minimum the pollutants identified in Attachment A.

E. LABORATORY TESTING

All samples will be tested in accordance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) or American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) methodologies where such methods exist. Where no EPA or ASTM methods exist, the State Water Board or Regional Water Quality Control Boards (Regional Water Boards) (collectively Water Boards) shall approve the use of other methods. Analytical tests shall be conducted by laboratories certified by the California Department of Health Services in accordance with Water Code Section 13176.

5

F. SEDIMENT TOXICITY

1. Short Term Survival Tests—A minimum of one short-term survival test shall be performed on sediment collected from each station. Acceptable test organisms and methods are summarized in Table 2.

Table 2. Acceptable Short Term Survival Sediment Toxicity Test Methods

Test Organism Exposure Type Duration Endpoint*

Eohaustorius estuarius Whole Sediment 10 days Survival

Leptocheirus plumulosus Whole Sediment 10 days Survival

Rhepoxynius abronius Whole Sediment 10 days Survival

2. Sublethal Tests—A minimum of one sublethal test shall be performed on sediment

collected from each station. Acceptable test organisms and methods are summarized in Table 3.

Table 3. Acceptable Sublethal Sediment Toxicity Test Methods

Test Organism Exposure Type Duration Endpoint

Neanthes arenaceodentata Whole Sediment 28 days Growth

Mytilus galloprovincialis Sediment-water Interface 48 hour Embryo Development

3. Assessment of Sediment Toxicity—Each sediment toxicity test result shall be compared and categorized according to responses in Table 4. The response categories are:

a. Nontoxic—Response not substantially different from that expected in sediments that are uncontaminated and have optimum characteristics for the test species (e.g., control sediments).

b. Low toxicity—A response that is of relatively low magnitude; the response may not be greater than test variability.

c. Moderate toxicity—High confidence that a statistically significant toxic effect is present.

d. High toxicity—High confidence that a toxic effect is present and the magnitude of response includes the strongest effects observed for the test.

6

Table 4. Sediment Toxicity Categorization Values

Test Species/ Endpoint

Statistical Significance

Nontoxic (Percent)

Low Toxicity

(Percent of Control)

Moderate Toxicity

(Percent of Control)

High Toxicity

(Percent of Control)

Eohaustorius Survival Significant 90 to 100 82 to 89 59 to 81 < 59

Eohaustorius Survival Not Significant 82 to 100 59 to 81 <59

Leptocheirus Survival Significant 90 to 100 78 to 89 56 to 77 <56

Leptocheirus Survival Not Significant 78 to 100 56 to 77 <56

Rhepoxynius Survival Significant 90 to 100 83 to 89 70 to 82 < 70

Rhepoxynius Survival Not Significant 83 to 100 70 to 82 < 70

Neanthes Growth Significant 90 to 100* 68 to 90 46 to 67 <46

Neanthes Growth Not Significant 68 to 100 46 to 67 <46

Mytilus Normal Significant 80 to 100 77 to 79 42 to 76 < 42

Mytilus Normal Not Significant 77 to 79 42 to 76 < 42

* Expressed as a percentage of the control.

4. Integration of Sediment Toxicity Categories—The average of all test response categories shall determine the final toxicity LOE category. If the average falls midway between categories it shall be rounded up to the next higher response category.

G. BENTHIC COMMUNITY CONDITION

1. General Requirements.

a. All benthic invertebrates in the screened sample shall be identified to the lowest possible taxon and counted.

b. Taxonomic nomenclature shall follow current conventions established by local monitoring programs and professional organizations (e.g., master species list).

2. Benthic Indices—The benthic condition shall be assessed using the following methods:

a. Benthic Response Index (BRI), which was originally developed for the southern California mainland shelf and extended into California’s bays and estuaries. The BRI is the abundance-weighted average pollution* tolerance score of organisms occurring in a sample.

b. Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI), which was developed for freshwater streams and adapted for California’s bays and estuaries. The IBI identifies community measures that have values outside a reference range.

c. Relative Benthic Index (RBI), which was developed for embayments in California’s Bay Protection and Toxic Cleanup Program. The RBI is the weighted sum of: (a) several community parameters (total number of species, number of crustacean species, number of crustacean individuals, and number of mollusc species), and abundances of (b) three positive, and (c) two negative indicator species.

d. River Invertebrate Prediction and Classification System (RIVPACS), which was originally developed for British freshwater streams and adapted for California’s bays and estuaries. The approach compares the assemblage at a site with an expected species composition determined by a multivariate predictive model that is based on species relationships to habitat gradients.

7

3. Assessment of Benthic Community Condition—Each benthic index result shall be categorized according to disturbance as described in Table 5. The disturbance categories are:

a. Reference—A community composition equivalent to a least affected or unaffected site.

b. Low disturbance— A community that shows some indication of stress, but could be within measurement error of unaffected condition.

c. Moderate disturbance—Confident that the community shows evidence of physical, chemical, natural, or anthropogenic stress.

d. High disturbance—The magnitude of stress is high.

4. Integration of Benthic Community Categories—The median of all benthic index response categories shall determine the benthic condition LOE category. If the median falls between categories it shall be rounded up to the next higher effect category.

Table 5. Benthic Index Categorization Values

Index Reference Low

Disturbance Moderate

Disturbance High

Disturbance

Southern California Marine Bays

BRI < 39.96 39.96 to 49.14 49.15 to 73.26 > 73.26

IBI 0 1 2 3 or 4

RBI > 0.27 0.17 to 0.27 0.09 to 0.16 < 0.09

RIVPACS > 0.90 to < 1.10 0.75 to 0.90 or 1.10 to 1.25

0.33 to 0.74 or > 1.25

< 0.33

Polyhaline Central San Francisco Bay

BRI < 22.28 22.28 to 33.37 33.38 to 82.08 > 82.08

IBI 0 or 1 2 3 4

RBI > 0.43 0.30 to 0.43 0.20 to 0.29 < 0.20

RIVPACS > 0.68 to < 1.32 0.33 to 0.68 or 1.32 to 1.67

0.16 to 0.32 or > 1.67

< 0.16

H. SEDIMENT CHEMISTRY

1. All samples shall be tested for the analytes identified in Attachment A—This list represents the minimum analytes required to assess exposure. In water bodies where other toxic pollutants are believed to pose risk to benthic communities, those toxic pollutants shall be included in the analysis. Inclusion of additional analytes cannot be used in the exposure assessment described below. However, the data can be used to conduct more effective stressor identification studies as described in Section VII. F.

2. Sediment Chemistry Guidelines—The sediment chemistry exposure shall be assessed using the following two methods:

a. Chemical Score Index (CSI), that uses a series of empirical thresholds to predict the benthic community disturbance category (score) associated with the concentration of various chemicals (Table 6). The CSI is the weighted sum of the individual scores (Equation 1).

Equation 1. CSI = Σ(wi x cati)/Σw

8

Where: cati = predicted benthic disturbance category for chemical I; wi = weight factor for chemical I; Σw = sum of all weights.

b. California Logistic Regression Model (CA LRM), that uses logistic regression models to predict the probability of sediment toxicity associated with the concentration of various chemicals (Table 7 and Equation 2). The CA LRM exposure value is the maximum probability of toxicity from the individual models (Pmax)

Equation 2. p = eB0+B1 (x) / (1 + e B0+B1 (x))

Where: p = probability of observing a toxic effect; B0 = intercept parameter; B1 = slope parameter; and x = Log (concentration of the chemical).

Table 6. Category Score Concentration Ranges and Weighting Factors for the CSI

Score (Disturbance Category)

Chemical Units Weight 1 Reference

2 Low

3 Moderate

4 High

Copper mg/kg 100 ≤52.8 > 52.8 to 96.5 > 96.5 to 406 > 406

Lead mg/kg 88 ≤ 26.4 > 26.4 to 60.8 > 60.8 to 154 > 154

Mercury mg/kg 30 ≤ 0.09 > 0.09 to 0.45 > 0.45 to 2.18 > 2.18

Zinc mg/kg 98 ≤ 1123 > 112 to 2001 > 2001 to 629 > 629

PAHs, total high MW µg/kg 16 ≤ 3123 > 3123 to 1325 > 1325 to 9320 >9320

PAHs, total low MW µg/kg 5 ≤ 85.4 > 85.4 to 312 > 312 to 2471 > 2471

Chlordane, alpha- µg/kg 55 ≤ 0.50 > 0.50 to 1.23 > 1.23 to 11.1 >11.1

Chlordane, gamma- µg/kg 58 ≤ 0.54 > 0.54 to 1.45 > 1.45 to 14.5 > 14.5

DDDs, total µg/kg 4645 ≤ 0.500.77 > 0.500.77 to3.56 2.69 > 2.693.56 to 26.37117 > 11726.37

DDEs, total µg/kg 3133 ≤ 0.501.19 > 0.501.19 to 6.01 4.15 > 4.156.01 to 45.84154 > 15445.84

DDTs, total µg/kg 1620 ≤ 0.500.61 > 0.500.61 to 2.79 1.52 > 1.522.79 to 34.2789.3 > 89.334.27

PCBs, total µg/kg 55 ≤11.9 > 11.9 to 24.7 > 24.7 to 288 > 288

Table 7. CA LRM Regression Parameters

Chemical Units B0 B1

Cadmium mg/kg 0.29 3.18

Copper mg/kg -5.59 2.59

Lead mg/kg -4.72 2.84

Mercury mg/kg -0.06 2.68

Zinc mg/kg -5.13 2.42

PAHs, total high MW µg/kg -8.19 2.00

PAHs, total low MW µg/kg -6.81 1.88

Chlordane, alpha µg/kg -3.41 4.46

Dieldrin µg/kg -1.83 2.59

Trans nonachlor µg/kg -4.26 5.31

PCBs, total µg/kg -4.41 1.48

p,p’ DDT µg/kg -3.55 3.26

9

3. Assessment of Sediment Chemistry Exposure—Each sediment chemistry guideline result shall be categorized according to exposure as described in Table 8. The exposure categories are:

a. Minimal exposure—Sediment-associated contamination* may be present, but exposure is unlikely to result in effects.

b. Low exposure—Small increase in pollutant exposure that may be associated with increased effects, but magnitude or frequency of occurrence of biological impacts is low.

c. Moderate exposure—Clear evidence of sediment pollutant exposure that is likely to result in biological effects; an intermediate category.

d. High exposure—Pollutant exposure highly likely to result in possibly severe biological effects; generally present in a small percentage of the samples.

Table 8. Sediment Chemistry Guideline Categorization Values

Guideline Minimal

Exposure Low

Exposure Moderate Exposure

High Exposure

CSI < 1.69 1.69 to 2.33 2.34 to 2.99 >2.99

CA LRM < 0.33 0.33 to 0.49 0.50 to 0.66 > 0.66

4. Integration of Sediment Chemistry Categories—The average of all chemistry exposure categories shall determine the final sediment chemistry LOE category. If the average falls midway between categories it shall be rounded up to the next higher exposure category.

I. INTERPRETATION AND INTEGRATION OF MLOE

Assessment as to whether the aquatic life sediment quality objective has been attained at a station is accomplished by the interpretation and integration of MLOE. The categories assigned to the three LOE, sediment toxicity, benthic community condition and sediment chemistry are evaluated to determine the station level assessment. The assessment category represented by each of the possible MLOE combinations reflects the presence and severity of two characteristics of the sample: severity of biological effects, and potential for chemically-mediated effects.

1. Severity of Biological Effects—The severity of biological effects present at a site shall be determined by the integration of the toxicity LOE and benthic condition LOE categories using the decision matrix presented in Table 9.

2. Potential for Chemically-Mediated Effects—The potential for effects to be chemically-mediated shall be determined by the integration of the toxicity LOE and chemistry LOE categories using the decision matrix presented in Table 10.

10

Table 9. Severity of Biological Effects Matrix

Toxicity LOE Category

Nontoxic

Low Toxicity

Moderate Toxicity

High Toxicity

Reference Unaffected Unaffected Unaffected Low

Effect

Low Disturbance

Unaffected Low Effect Low Effect Low

Effect

Moderate

Disturbance

Moderate Effect

Moderate

Effect

Moderate Effect

Moderate Effect

Benthic Condition LOE Category

High Disturbance

Moderate Effect

High Effect

High Effect

High Effect

Table 10. Potential for Chemically Mediated Effects Matrix

Toxicity LOE Category

Nontoxic

Low Toxicity

Moderate Toxicity

High Toxicity

Minimal Exposure

Minimal Potential

Minimal Potential

Low Potential

Moderate Potential

Low Exposure

Minimal Potential

Low Potential

Moderate Potential

Moderate Potential

Moderate Exposure

Low Potential

Moderate Potential

Moderate Potential

Moderate Potential

Sediment Chemistry LOE Category

High Exposure

Moderate Potential

Moderate Potential

High Potential

High Potential

3. Station Level Assessment—The station level assessment shall be determined using the decision matrix presented in Table 11. This assessment combines the intermediate classifications for severity of biological effect and potential for chemically-mediated effect to result in six categories of impact at the station level:

a. Unimpacted—Confident that sediment contamination is not causing significant adverse impacts to aquatic life living in the sediment at the site.

b. Likely Unimpacted—Sediment contamination at the site is not expected to cause adverse impacts to aquatic life, but some disagreement among the LOE reduces certainty in classifying the site as unimpacted.

c. Possibly Impacted—Sediment contamination at the site may be causing adverse impacts to aquatic life, but these impacts are either small or uncertain because of disagreement among LOE.

d. Likely Impacted—Evidence for a contaminant-related impact to aquatic life at the site is persuasive, even if there is some disagreement among LOE.

e. Clearly Impacted—Sediment contamination at the site is causing clear and severe adverse impacts to aquatic life.

f. Inconclusive—Disagreement among the LOE suggests that either the data are suspect or that additional information is needed before a classification can be made.

11

Table 11. Station Assessment Matrix

Severity of Effect

Unaffected Low

Effect Moderate

Effect High

Effect

Minimal Potential

Unimpacted Likely Unimpacted Likely

Unimpacted Inconclusive

Low Potential Unimpacted Likely Unimpacted Possibly Impacted

Possibly Impacted

Moderate Potential

Likely Unimpacted

Possibly Impacted or Inconclusive

1

Likely Impacted Likely Impacted

Potential For Chemically-

Mediated Effects

High Potential

Inconclusive Likely Impacted Clearly

Impacted Clearly

Impacted

1 Inconclusive category when chemistry is classified as minimal exposure, benthic response is classified as reference, and toxicity response is classified as high.

The station assessment resulting from each possible combination of the three LOEs is shown in Attachment B. As an alternative to Tables 9, 10 and 11, each LOE category can be applied to Attachment B to determine the overall condition of the station. The results will be the same regardless of the tables used.

4. Relationship to the Aquatic Life – Benthic Community Protection Narrative Objective.

a. The categories designated as Unimpacted and Likely Unimpacted shall be considered as achieving the protective condition at the station. All other categories shall be considered as degraded except as provided in b. below.

b. The Water Board shall designate the category Possibly Impacted as meeting the protective condition if the studies identified in Section VII.F demonstrate that the combination of effects and exposure measures are not responding to toxic pollutants in sediments and that other factors are causing these responses within a specific reach segment or waterbody. In this situation, the Water Board will consider only the Categories Likely Impacted and Clearly Impacted as degraded when making a determination on receiving water limits and impaired water bodies described in Section VII.

J. MLOE APPROACH TO INTERPRET THE NARRATIVE OBJECTIVE IN OTHER BAYS AND

ESTUARIES

Station assessments for waterbodies identified in Section V.C.2. will be conducted using the same conceptual approach and similar tools to those described in Sections V.D-H. Each LOE will be evaluated by measuring a set of readily available indicators in accordance with Tables 12 and 13.

1. Station assessment shall be consistent with the following key principles of the assessment approach described in Sections V.D. through V.I:

a. Results for a single LOE shall not be used as the basis for an assessment.

b. Evidence of both elevated chemical exposure and biological effects must be present to indicate pollutant-associated impacts.

c. The categorization of each LOE shall be based on numeric values or a statistical comparison.

2. Lines of Evidence and Measurement Tools—Sediment chemistry, toxicity, and benthic community condition shall be measured at each station. Table 12 lists the required tools for evaluation of each LOE. Each measurement shall be conducted using standardized methods (e.g., EPA or ASTM guidance) where available.

12

3. Categorization of LOEs—Determination of the presence of an LOE effect (i.e., biologically significant chemical exposure, toxicity, or benthic community disturbance) shall be based on a comparison to a numeric response value or a statistical comparison to reference stations. The numeric values or statistical comparisons (e.g., confidence interval) used to classify a LOE as Effected shall be comparable to those specified in Sections V.F-H. to indicate High Chemical Exposure, High Toxicity, or High Disturbance. Reference stations shall be located in an area expected to be uninfluenced by the discharge or pollutants of concern in the assessment area and shall be representative of other habitat characteristics of the assessment area (e.g., salinity, grain size). Comparison to reference shall be accomplished by compiling data for appropriate regional reference sites and determining the reference envelope using statistical methods (e.g., tolerance interval).

Table 12. Tools for Use in Evaluation of LOEs

LOE Tools Metrics

Chemistry Bulk sediment chemistry to include existing list (Attachment A) plus other chemicals of concern

CA LRM Pmax

Concentration on a dry weight basis

Sediment Toxicity 10-Day amphipod survival using a species tolerant of the sample salinity and grain size characteristics. e.g., Hyalella azteca or Eohaustorius estuarius

Percent of control survival

Benthic Community Condition

Invertebrate species identification and abundance

Species richness* Presence of sensitive indicator taxa Dominance by tolerant indicator taxa Presence of diverse functional and feeding groups Total abundance

Table 13. Numeric Values and Comparison Methods for LOE Categorization

Metric Threshold value or Comparison

CA LRM Pmax > 0.66

Chemical Concentration Greater than reference range or interval

Percent of Control Survival E. estuarius: < 59 H. azteca: < 62 or SWAMP criterion

Species Richness Less than reference range or interval

Abundance of Sensitive Indicator Taxa Less than reference range or interval

Abundance of Tolerant Indicator Taxa Greater than reference range or interval

Total Abundance Outside of reference range or interval

4. Station Level Assessment—The station level assessment shall be determined using the decision matrix presented in Table 14. This assessment combines the classifications for each LOE to result in two categories of impact at the station level:

a. Unimpacted—No conclusive evidence of both high pollutant exposure and high biological effects present at the site. Evidence of chemical exposure and biological effects may be within natural variability or measurement error.

b. Impacted—Confident that sediment contamination present at the site is causing adverse direct impacts to aquatic life.

13

Table 14. Station Assessment Matrix for Other Bays and Estuaries

Chemistry LOE Category

Toxicity LOE Category

Benthic Condition LOE Category

Station Assessment

No effect No effect No effect Unimpacted

No effect No effect Effect Unimpacted

No effect Effect No effect Unimpacted

No effect Effect Effect Impacted

Effect No effect No effect Unimpacted

Effect No effect Effect Impacted

Effect Effect No effect Impacted

Effect Effect Effect Impacted

5. Relationship to the Aquatic Life – Benthic Community Protection Narrative Objective—The category designated as Unimpacted shall be considered as achieving the protective condition at the station.

VI. IMPLEMENTATION FOR ASSESSING HUMAN HEALTH, WILDLIFE AND RESIDENT FINFISH PROTECTION

A. HUMAN HEALTH

The narrative human health objective in Section IV. B. of this Part 1 shall be implemented on a case-by-case basis, based upon a human health risk assessment. In conducting a risk assessment, the Water Boards shall consider any applicable and relevant information, including California Environmental Protection Agency’s (Cal/EPA) Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) policies for fish consumption and risk assessment, Cal/EPA’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Risk Assessment, and U.S. EPA Human Health Risk Assessment policies.

B. WILDLIFE AND RESIDENT FINFISH

The narrative wildlife* and resident finfish* objectives in Section IV.C of this Part 1 shall be implemented on a case-by-case basis, based upon an ecological risk assessment. In conducting an ecological risk assessment, the Water Boards shall consider any applicable and relevant ecological risk information, including policies and guidance from the following sources:.

• California Environmental Protection Agency’s (Cal/EPA) Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)

• Cal/EPA’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC)

• California Department of Fish and Game

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

• National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service When threatened or endangered species are present in enclosed bays and estuaries, the

Water Boards shall consult with State and/or Federal Resource Trustee agencies to ensure that these species are adequately protected.

14

VII. PROGRAM SPECIFIC OF IMPLEMENTATION

Implementation of Part 1 shall be conducted in accordance with the following provisions and consistent with the process shown in Figures 1 and 2.

A. DREDGE MATERIALS

1. Part 1 shall not apply to dredge material suitability determinations.

2. The Water Boards shall not approve a dredging project that involves the dredging of sediment that exceeds the objectives in Part 1, unless the Water Boards determine that:

a. The polluted sediment is removed in a manner that prevents or minimizes water quality degradation.

b. The polluted sediment is not deposited in a location that may cause significant adverse effects to aquatic life, fish, shellfish, or wildlife or may harm the beneficial uses of the receiving waters, or does not create maximum benefit to the people of the State.

c. The activity will not cause significant adverse impacts upon a federal sanctuary, recreational area, or other waters of significant national importance.

B. NPDES RECEIVING WATER AND EFFLUENT LIMITS

1. If a Water Board determines that discharge of a toxic pollutant to bay or estuarine waters has the reasonable potential to cause or contribute to an exceedance of the SQOs, the Water Board shall apply the objectives as receiving water limits.

2. The Permittee shall be in violation of such limits if it is demonstrated that the discharge is causing or contributing to the SQO exceedance as defined in Section VII.C.

3. Receiving water monitoring required by an NPDES permit may be satisfied by a Permitee’s participation in a regional SQO monitoring program described in Section VII.E.

4. The sediment chemistry guidelines shall not be translated into or applied as effluent limits. Effluent limits established to protect or restore sediment quality shall be developed only after:

a. A clear relationship has been established linking the discharge to the degradation,

b. The pollutants causing or contributing to the degradation have been identified, and

c. Appropriate loading studies have been completed to estimate the reductions in pollutant loading that will restore sediment quality.

These actions are described further in Sections VII.F and VII.G. Nothing in this section shall limit a Water Board’s authority to develop and implement waste* load allocations* for Total Maximum Daily Loads. However, it is recommended that the Water Boards develop TMDL allocations using the methodology described herein, wherever possible.

C. EXCEEDANCE OF RECEIVING WATER LIMIT

Exceedance of a receiving water limit is demonstrated when:

15

1. Using a binomial distribution*, the total number of stations designated as not meeting the protective condition as defined in Sections V.I.4. or V.J.4. supports rejection of the null hypothesis* as presented in Table 15. The stations included in this analysis will be those located in the vicinity of the discharge and identified in the permit, and

2. It is demonstrated that the discharge is causing or contributing to the SQO exceedance, following the completion of the stressor identification studies described in Section VII.F.

3. If studies by the Permittee demonstrate that other sources may also be contributing to the degradation of sediment quality, the Regional Water Board shall, as appropriate, require the other sources to initiate studies to assess the extent to which these sources are a contributing factor.

Table 15. Minimum Number of Measured Exceedances Needed to Exceed the Direct Effects SQO as a Receiving Water Limit

Sample Size List If the Number of

Exceedances Equals or Is Greater Than

2 – 24 2*

25 – 36 3

37 – 47 4

48 – 59 5

60 – 71 6

72 – 82 7

83 – 94 8

95 – 106 9

107 – 117 10

118 – 129 11

Note: Null Hypothesis: Actual exceedance proportion < 3 percent. Alternate Hypothesis: Actual exceedance proportion > 18 percent. The minimum effect size* is 15 percent.

*Application of the binomial test requires a minimum sample size of 16. The number of exceedances required using the binomial test at a sample size of 16 is extended to smaller sample sizes.

Exceedance will require the Permittee to perform additional studies as described in Sections VII.F and VII.G.

D. RECEIVING WATER LIMITS MONITORING FREQUENCY

1. Phase I Stormwater Discharges and Major Discharges—Sediment Monitoring shall not be required less frequently than twice per permit cycle. For Stations that are consistently classified as unimpacted or likely unimpacted the frequency may be reduced to once per permit cycle. The Water Board may limit receiving water monitoring to a subset of outfalls for Phase I Stormwater Permitees.

2. Phase II Stormwater and Minor Discharges—Sediment Monitoring shall not be required more often then twice per permit cycle or less then once per permit cycle. For stations that are consistently classified as unimpacted or likely unimpacted, the number of stations monitored may be reduced at the discretion of the Water Board. The Water Board may limit receiving water monitoring to a subset of outfalls for Phase II Stormwater Permitees.

16

3. Other Regulated Discharges and Waivers—The frequency of the monitoring for receiving water limits for other regulated discharges and waivers will be determined by the Water Board.

E. SEDIMENT MONITORING

1. Objective—Bedded sediments in bays contain an accumulation of pollutants from a wide variety of past and present sources discharged either directly into the bay or indirectly into waters draining into the bay. Embayments also represent highly disturbed or altered habitats as a result of dredging and physical disturbance caused by construction and maintenance of harbor works, boat and ship traffic, and development of adjacent lands. Due to the multitude of stressors and the complexity of the environment, a well-designed monitoring program is necessary to ensure that the data collected adequately characterizes the condition of sediment in these water bodies.

2. Permitted Discharges—Monitoring may be performed by individual Permitees to assess compliance with receiving water limits, or through participation in a regional or water body monitoring coalition as described under VII.E.3, or both as determined by the Water Board.

3. Monitoring Coalitions—To achieve maximum efficiency and economy of resources, the State Water Board encourages the regulated community in coordination with the Regional Water Boards to establish water body-monitoring coalitions. Monitoring coalitions enable the sharing of technical resources, trained personnel, and associated costs and create an integrated sediment-monitoring program within each major water body. Focusing resources on regional issues and developing a broader understanding of pollutants effects in these water bodies enables the development of more rapid and efficient response strategies and facilitates better management of sediment quality.

a. If a regional monitoring coalition is established, the coalition shall be responsible for sediment quality assessment within the designated water body and for ensuring that appropriate studies are completed in a timely manner.

b. The Water Board shall provide oversight to ensure that coalition participants are proactive and responsive to potential sediment quality related issues as they arise during monitoring and assessment.

c. Each regional monitoring coalition shall prepare a workplan that describes the monitoring, a map of the stations, participants and a schedule that shall be submitted to the Water Board for approval.

4. Methods—Sediments collected from each station shall be tested or assessed using the methods and metrics described in Section V.

5. Design.

a. The design of sediment monitoring programs, whether site-specific or region wide, shall be based upon a conceptual model. A conceptual model is useful for identifying the physical and chemical factors that control the fate and transport of pollutants and receptors that could be exposed to pollutants in the sediment. The conceptual model serves as the basis for assessing the appropriateness of a study design. The detail and complexity of the conceptual model is dependent upon the scope and scale of the monitoring program. A conceptual model shall consider:

– Points of discharge into the segment of the waterbody or region of interest

17

– Tidal flow and/or direction of predominant currents – Historic and or legacy conditions in the vicinity – Nearby land and marine uses or actions – Beneficial uses – Potential receptors of concern – Changes in grain size salinity water depth and organic matter – Other sources or discharges in the immediate vicinity.

b. Sediment monitoring programs shall be designed to ensure that the aggregate stations are spatially representative of the sediment within the water body.

c. The design shall take into consideration existing data and information of appropriate quality.

d. Stratified random design shall be used where resources permit to assess conditions throughout a water body.

3. Identification of appropriate strata shall consider characteristics of the water body including sediment transport, hydrodynamics, depth, salinity, land uses, inputs (both natural and anthropogenic) and other factors that could affect the physical, chemical, or biological condition of the sediment.

f. Targeted designs shall be applied to those Permitees that are required to meet receiving water limits as described in Section VII. B.

6. Index Period—All stations shall be sampled between the months of June through September to be consistent with the benthic community condition index period.

7. Regional Monitoring Schedule and Frequency.

a. Regional sediment quality monitoring will occur at a minimum of once every three years.

b. Sediments identified as exceeding the narrative objective will be evaluated more frequently.

8. Evaluating Waters for placement on the Section 303(d) list —In California, water segments are placed on the section 303(d) list for sediment toxicity based either on toxicity alone or toxicity that is associated with a pollutant. The listing criteria are contained in the State Water Board’s Water Quality Control Policy for Developing California’s Clean Water Act Section 303(d) List (2004)(Listing Policy). Part 1 adds an additional listing criterion that applies only to listings for exceedances of the narrative sediment quality objective for aquatic life protection in Section IV.A. The criterion under Part 1 is described in subsection a. below and the relationship between the sediment toxicity listing criteria under the Listing Policy and the criterion under Part 1 is described in subsections b. and c., below.

1. Water segments shall be placed on the section 303(d) list for exceedance of the narrative sediment quality objective for aquatic life protection in Section IV.A. of Part 1 only if the number of stations designated as not achieving the protective condition as defined in Sections V.I. and V.J. supports rejection of the null hypothesis, as provided in Table 3.1 of the State Water Board’s Listing Policy.

2. Water segments that exhibit sediment toxicity but that are not listed for an exceedance of the narrative sediment quality objective for aquatic life protection in Section IV.A. shall continue to be listed in accordance with Section 3.6 of the Listing Policy.

3. If a water segment is listed under Section 3.6 of the Listing Policy and the Regional Water Board later determines that the applicable water quality standard

18

that is impaired consists of the sediment quality objective in Section IV.A. of Part 1 and a bay or estuarine habitat beneficial use, the Regional Water Board shall reevaluate the listing in accordance with Sections V.I and V.J. If the Regional Water Board reevaluates the listing and determines that the water segment does not meet the criteria in subsection a. above, the Regional Water Board shall delist the water segment.

F. STRESSOR IDENTIFICATION

If sediments fail to meet the narrative SQOs in accordance with Sections V. and VI. the Water Boards shall direct the regional monitoring coalitions or Permittees to conduct stressor identification.

The Water Boards shall assign the highest priority for stressor identification to those segments or reaches with the highest percentage of sites designated as Clearly Impacted and Likely Impacted.

Where segments or reaches contain Possibly Impacted but no Clearly or Likely Impacted sites, confirmation monitoring shall be conducted prior to initiating stressor identification.

The stressor identification approach consists of development and implementation of a work plan to seek confirmation and characterization of pollutant-related impacts, pollutant identification and source identification. The workplan shall be submitted to the Water Board for approval. Stressor identification consists of the following studies:

1. Confirmation and Characterization of Pollutant Related Impacts—Exceedance of the direct effects SQO at a site indicates that pollutants in the sediment are the likely cause but does not identify the specific pollutant responsible. The MLOE assessment establishes a linkage to sediment pollutants; however, the lack of confounding factors (e.g., physical disturbance, non-pollutant constituents) must be confirmed. There are two generic stressors that are not related to toxic pollutants that may cause the narrative to be exceeded:

a. Physical Alteration—Examples of physical stressors include reduced salinity, impacts from dredging, very fine or coarse grain size, and prop wash from passing ships. These types of stressors may produce a non-reference condition* in the benthic community that is similar to that caused by pollutants. If impacts to a site are purely due to physical disturbance, the LOE characteristics will likely show a degraded benthic community with little or no toxicity and low chemical concentrations.

b. Other Pollutant Related Stressors—These constituents, which include elevated total organic carbon, ammonia, nutrients and pathogens, may have sources similar to chemical pollutants. Chemical and microbiological analysis will be necessary to determine if these constituents are present. The LOE characteristics for this type of stressor would likely be a degraded benthic community with possibly an indication of toxicity, and low chemical concentrations.

To further assess a site that is impacted by toxic pollutants, there are several lines of investigation that may be pursued, depending on site-specific conditions. These studies may be considered and evaluated in the work plan for the confirmation effort:

a. Evaluate the spatial extent of the Area of Concern. This information can be used to evaluate the potential risk associated with the sediment, distinguish areas of known physical disturbance or pollution and evaluate the proximity to

19

anthropogenic source gradient from such inputs as outfalls, storm drains, and industrial and agricultural activities.

b. Body burden data may be examined from animals exposed to the site’s sediment to indicate if pollutants are being accumulated and to what degree.

c. Chemical specific mechanistic benchmarks* may be applied to interpret sediment chemistry concentrations.

d. Chemistry and biology data from the site should be examined to determine if there is a correlation between the two LOE.

e. Alternate biological effects data may be pursued, such as bioaccumulation* experiments and pore water toxicity or chemical analysis.

f. Other investigations that may commonly be performed as part of a Phase 1 Toxicity Identification Evaluation* (TIE).

If there is compelling evidence that the SQO exceedances contributing to a receiving water limit exceedance are not due to toxic pollutants, then the assessment area shall be designated as having achieved the receiving water limit.

2. Pollutant Identification—Methods to help determine cause may be statistical, biological, chemical or a combination. Pollutant identification studies should be structured to address site-specific conditions, and may be based upon the following:

a. Statistical methods—Correlations between individual chemicals and biological endpoints (toxicity and benthic community).

b. Gradient analysis—Comparisons are made between different samples taken at various distances from a chemical hotspot to examine patterns in chemical concentrations and biological responses. The concentrations of causative agents should decrease as biological effects decrease.

c. Additional Toxicity Identification Evaluation efforts—A toxicological method for determining the cause of impairments is the use of toxicity identification evaluations (TIE). Sediment samples are manipulated chemically or physically to remove classes of chemicals or render them biologically unavailable. Following the manipulations, biological tests are performed to determine if toxicity has been removed. TIEs should be conducted at a limited number of stations, preferably those with strong biological or toxicological effects.

d. Bioavailability*—Chemical pollutants may be present in the sediment but not biologically available to cause toxicity or degradation of the benthic community. There are several measures of bioavailability that can be made. Chemical and toxicological measurements can be made on pore water to determine the availability of sediment pollutants. Metal compounds may be naturally bound up in the sediment and rendered unavailable by the presence of sulfides. Measurement of acid volatile sulfides and simultaneously extracted metals analysis can be conducted to determine if sufficient sulfides are present to bind the observed metals. Similarly, organic compounds can be tightly bound to sediments. Measurements of sediment organic carbon and other binding phases can be conducted to determine the bioavailable fraction of organic compounds. Solid phase microextraction (SPME) or laboratory desorption experiments can also be used to identify which organics are bioavailable to benthic organisms.

e. Verification—After specific chemicals are identified as likely causes of impairment, analysis should be performed to verify the results. Sediments can be spiked with the suspected chemicals to verify that they are indeed toxic at the

20

concentrations observed in the field. Alternately, animals can be transplanted to suspected sites for in situ toxicity and bioaccumulation testing.

When stressor Identification yields inconclusive results for sites classified as Possibly Impacted, the Water Board shall require the Permittee or regional monitoring coalition to perform a one-time augmentation to that study or, alternatively, the Water Board may suspend further stressor identification studies pending the results of future routine SQO monitoring.

3. Sources Identification and Management Actions.

a. Determine if the sources are ongoing or legacy sources.

b. Determine the number and nature of ongoing sources.

c. If a single discharger is found to be responsible for discharging the stressor pollutant at a loading rate that is significant, the Regional Water Board shall require the discharger to take all necessary and appropriate steps to address exceedance of the SQO, including but not limited to reducing the pollutant loading into the sediment.

d. When multiple sources are present in the water body that discharge the stressor pollutant at a loading rate that is significant, the Regional Water Board shall require the sources to take all necessary and appropriate steps to address exceedance of the SQO. If appropriate, the Regional Water Board may adopt a TMDL to ensure attainment of the sediment standard.

G. CLEANUP AND ABATEMENT

Cleanup and abatement actions covered by Water Code section 13304 for sediments that exceed the objectives in Chapter IV shall comply with Resolution No. 92-49 (Policies and Procedures for Investigation and Cleanup and Abatement of Discharges under Water Code Section 13304), Cal. Code Regs., tit. 23, §§ 2907, 2911.

H. DEVELOPMENT OF SITE-SPECIFIC SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES

The Regional Water Boards may develop site-specific sediment management guidelines where appropriate, for example, where toxic stressors have been identified and controllable sources of these stressors exist or remedial goals are desired.

Development of site-specific sediment management guidelines is the process to estimate the level of the stressor pollutant that will meet the narrative sediment quality objective. The guideline can serve as the basis for cleanup goals or revision of effluent limits described in B. 4 above, depending upon the situation or sources. All guidelines when applied for cleanup, must comply with 92-49.

Guideline development should only be initiated after the stressor has been identified. The goal is to establish a relationship between the organism’s exposure and the biological effect. Once this relationship is established, a pollutant specific guideline may be designated that corresponds with minimum biological effects. The following approaches can be applied to establish these relationships:

1. Correspondence with sediment chemistry. An effective guideline can best be derived based upon the site-specific, or reach- specific relationship between the stressor pollutant exposure and biological response. Therefore the correspondence between the bulk sediment stressor concentration and biological effects should be examined.

21

2. Correspondence with bioavailable pollutant concentration. The concentration of the bioavailable fraction of the stressor pollutants is likely to show a less variable relationship to biological effects that bulk sediment chemistry. Interstitial water analysis, SPME, desorption experiments, selective extractions, or mechanistic models may indicate the bioavailable pollutant concentration. The correspondence between the bioavailable stressor concentration and biological effects should be examined.

3. Correspondence with tissue residue. The concentration of the stressor accumulated by a target organism may provide a measure of the stressor dose for some chemicals (e.g., those that are not rapidly metabolized). The tissue residue threshold concentration associated with unacceptable biological effects can be combined with a bioaccumulation factor or model to estimate the loading or sediment concentration guideline.

4. Literature review. If site-specific analyses are ambiguous or unable to determine a guideline, then the results of similar development efforts for other areas should be reviewed. Scientifically credible values from other studies can be combined with mechanistic or empirical models of bioavailability, toxic potency, and organism sensitivity to estimate guidelines for the area of interest.

5. The chemistry LOE of Section V.H.2, including the threshold values (e.g. CSI and CALRM), shall not be used for setting cleanup levels or numeric values for technical TMDLs.

VIII. GLOSSARY

AQUATIC LIFE: For the purpose of this Part 1, aquatic life refers to benthic invertebrates, shellfish sport fish and finfish.

BAYS: For the purpose of this Part 1, bays are defined as enclosed bays*.

BENTHIC: Living on or in bottom of the ocean, bays, and estuaries, or in the streambed.

BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION: Mathematical distribution that describes the probabilities associated with the possible number of times particular outcomes will occur in series of observations (i.e., samples). Each observation may have only one of two possible results (e.g., standard exceeded or standard not exceeded).

BIOACCUMULATION: A process in which an organism’s body burden of a pollutant exceeds that in its surrounding environment as a result of chemical uptake through all routes of chemical exposure; dietary and dermal absorption and transport across the respiratory surface.

BIOAVAILABILITY: The fraction of a pollutant that an organism is exposed to that is available for uptake through biological membranes (gut, gills).

CHEMICALS OF CONCERN (COCS): Pollutants that occur in environmental media at levels that pose a risk to ecological receptors or human health.

CONTAMINATION: An impairment of the quality of the waters of the State by waste to a degree that creates a hazard to the public health through poisoning or through the spread of disease. “Contamination” includes any equivalent effect resulting from the disposal of waste whether or not waters of the State are affected (CWC section 13050(k)).

EFFECT SIZE: The maximum magnitude of exceedance frequency that is tolerated.

ENCLOSED BAYS: Indentations along the coast that enclose an area of oceanic water within distinct headlands or harbor works. Enclosed bays include all bays where the narrowest

22

distance between headlands or outermost harbor works is less than 75 percent of the greatest dimension of the enclosed portion of the bay. This definition includes, but is not limited to: Humboldt Bay, Bodega Harbor, Tomales Bay, Drakes Estero, San Francisco Bay, Morro Bay, Los Angeles Harbor, Upper and Lower Newport Bay, Mission Bay, and San Diego Bay.

ENDPOINT: A measured response of a receptor to a stressor. An endpoint can be measured in a toxicity test or in a field survey.

ESTUARIES AND COASTAL LAGOONS: Waters at the mouths of streams that serve as mixing zones* for fresh and ocean waters during a major portion of the year. Mouths of streams that are temporarily separated from the ocean by sandbars shall be considered as estuaries. Estuarine waters will generally be considered to extend from a bay or the open ocean to the upstream limit of tidal action but may be considered to extend seaward if significant mixing of fresh and salt water occurs in the open coastal waters. The waters described by this definition include, but are not limited to, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as defined by Section 12220 of the California Water Code, Suisun Bay, Carquinez Strait downstream to Carquinez Bridge, and appropriate areas of the Smith, Klamath, Mad, Eel, Noyo, and Russian Rivers.

EUHALINE: Waters ranging in salinity from 25–32 practical salinity units (psu).

INLAND SURFACE WATERS: All surface waters of the State that do not include the ocean, enclosed bays, or estuaries.

LOAD ALLOCATION (LA): The portion of a receiving water's total maximum daily load that is allocated to one of its nonpoint sources of pollution or to natural background sources.

MECHANISTIC BENCHMARKS: Chemical guidelines developed based upon theoretical processes governing bioavailability and the relationship to biological effects.

MIXING ZONE: A limited zone within a receiving water that is allocated for mixing with a wastewater discharge where water quality criteria can be exceeded without causing adverse effects to the overall water body.

NONPOINT SOURCES: Sources that do not meet the definition of a point source as defined below.

NULL HYPOTHESIS: A statement used in statistical testing that has been put forward either because it is believed to be true or because it is to be used as a basis for argument, but has not been proved.

OCEAN WATERS: Territorial marine waters of the State as defined by California law to the extent these waters are outside of enclosed bays, estuaries, and coastal lagoons. Discharges to ocean waters are regulated in accordance with the State Water Board’s California Ocean Plan.

POINT SOURCE: Any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does not include agricultural stormwater discharges and return flows from irrigated agriculture.

POLLUTANT: Defined in section 502(6) of the CWA as “dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged into water.”

23

POLLUTION: Defined in section 502(19) of the CWA as the “the man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological integrity of water.” Pollution is also defined in CWC section 13050(1) as an alternation of the quality of the waters of the State by waste to a degree that unreasonably affects either the waters for beneficial uses or the facilities that serve these beneficial uses.

POLYHALINE: Waters ranging in salinity from 18–25 psu.

REFERENCE CONDITION: The characteristics of water body segments least impaired by human activities. As such, reference conditions can be used to describe attainable biological or habitat conditions for water body segments with common watershed/catchment characteristics within defined geographical regions.

RESIDENT FINFISH: Any species of bony fish or cartilaginous fish (sharks, skates and rays) whose home range occupies all or part of the water body but does not extend into other water bodies. SPECIES RICHNESS: The number of species in a sample.

SURFICIAL SEDIMENTS: Those sediments representing recent depositional materials and containing the majority of the benthic invertebrate community.

STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: When it can be demonstrated that the probability of obtaining a difference by chance only is relatively low.

TOXICITY IDENTIFICATION EVALUATION (TIE): Techniques used to identify the unexplained cause(s) of toxic events. TIE involves selectively removing classes of chemicals through a series of sample manipulations, effectively reducing complex mixtures of chemicals in natural waters to simple components for analysis. Following each manipulation the toxicity of the sample is assessed to see whether the toxicant class removed was responsible for the toxicity.

WASTE: As used in this document, waste includes a discharger’s total discharge, of whatever origin, i.e., gross, not net, discharge.

WILDLIFE: All tetrapod vertebrates, including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, inclusive of marine mammals.

24

Figure 1. Waterbody Assessment Process

25

Figure 2. Point Source Assessment Process

26

Attachment A. List of chemical analytes needed to characterize sediment contamination exposure and effect.

Chemical Name

Chemical Group

Chemical Name

Chemical Group

Total Organic Carbon General Alpha Chlordane Pesticide

Percent Fines General Gamma Chlordane Pesticide

Trans Nonachlor Pesticide

Cadmium Metal Dieldrin Pesticide

Copper Metal o,p’-DDE Pesticide

Lead Metal o,p’-DDD Pesticide

Mercury Metal o,p’-DDT Pesticide

Zinc Metal p,p’-DDD Pesticide

p,p’-DDE Pesticide

p,p’-DDT Pesticide

Acenaphthene PAH 2,4'-Dichlorobiphenyl PCB congener

Anthracene PAH 2,2',5-Trichlorobiphenyl PCB congener

Biphenyl PAH 2,4,4'-Trichlorobiphenyl PCB congener

Naphthalene PAH 2,2',3,5'-Tetrachlorobiphenyl PCB congener

2,6-dimethylnaphthalene PAH 2,2',5,5'-Tetrachlorobiphenyl PCB congener

Fuorene PAH 2,3',4,4'-Tetrachlorobiphenyl PCB congener

1-methylnaphthalene PAH 2,2',4,5,5'-Pentachlorobiphenyl PCB congener

2-methylnaphthalene PAH 2,3,3',4,4'-Pentachlorobiphenyl PCB congener

2,3,3’,4’,6-Pentachlorobipheny PCB congener

1-methylphenanthrene PAH 2,3',4,4',5-Pentachlorobiphenyl PCB congener

Phenanthrene PAH 2,2',3,3',4,4'-Hexachlorobiphenyl PCB congener

Benzo(a)anthracene PAH 2,2',3,4,4',5'-Hexachlorobiphenyl PCB congener

Benzo(a)pyrene PAH 2,2',4,4',5,5'-Hexachlorobiphenyl PCB congener

Benzo(e)pyrene PAH 2,2',3,3',4,4',5-Heptachlorobiphenyl PCB congener

Chrysene PAH 2,2',3,4,4',5,5'-Heptachlorobiphenyl PCB congener

Dibenz(a,h)anthracene PAH 2,2',3,4',5,5',6-Heptachlorobiphenyl PCB congener

Fluoranthene PAH 2,2',3,3',4,4',5,6-Octachlorobiphenyl PCB congener

Perylene PAH 2,2',3,3',4,4',5,5',6-Nonachlorobiphenyl PCB congener

Pyrene PAH Decachlorobiphenyl PCB congener

27

Attachment B. Station assessment category resulting from each possible MLOE combination

LOE Category Combination

Sediment Chemistry Exposure

Benthic Community Condition

Sediment Toxicity

Station Assessment

1 Minimal Reference Nontoxic Unimpacted

2 Minimal Reference Low Unimpacted

3 Minimal Reference Moderate Unimpacted

4 Minimal Reference High Inconclusive

5 Minimal Low Nontoxic Unimpacted

6 Minimal Low Low Likely unimpacted

7 Minimal Low Moderate Likely unimpacted

8 Minimal Low High Possibly impacted

9 Minimal Moderate Nontoxic Likely unimpacted

10 Minimal Moderate Low Likely unimpacted

11 Minimal Moderate Moderate Possibly impacted

12 Minimal Moderate High Likely impacted

13 Minimal High Nontoxic Likely unimpacted

14 Minimal High Low Inconclusive

15 Minimal High Moderate Possibly impacted

16 Minimal High High Likely impacted

17 Low Reference Nontoxic Unimpacted

18 Low Reference Low Unimpacted

19 Low Reference Moderate Likely unimpacted

20 Low Reference High Possibly impacted

21 Low Low Nontoxic Unimpacted

22 Low Low Low Likely unimpacted

23 Low Low Moderate Possibly impacted

24 Low Low High Possibly impacted

25 Low Moderate Nontoxic Likely unimpacted

26 Low Moderate Low Possibly impacted

27 Low Moderate Moderate Likely impacted

28 Low Moderate High Likely impacted

29 Low High Nontoxic Likely unimpacted

30 Low High Low Possibly impacted

31 Low High Moderate Likely impacted

32 Low High High Likely impacted

33 Moderate Reference Nontoxic Unimpacted

34 Moderate Reference Low Likely unimpacted

35 Moderate Reference Moderate Likely unimpacted

36 Moderate Reference High Possibly impacted

37 Moderate Low Nontoxic Unimpacted

38 Moderate Low Low Possibly impacted

39 Moderate Low Moderate Possibly impacted

40 Moderate Low High Possibly impacted

41 Moderate Moderate Nontoxic Possibly impacted

42 Moderate Moderate Low Likely impacted

43 Moderate Moderate Moderate Likely impacted

44 Moderate Moderate High Likely impacted

28

LOE Category Combination

Sediment Chemistry Exposure

Benthic Community Condition

Sediment Toxicity

Station Assessment

45 Moderate High Nontoxic Possibly impacted

46 Moderate High Low Likely impacted

47 Moderate High Moderate Likely impacted

48 Moderate High High Likely impacted

49 High Reference Nontoxic Likely unimpacted

50 High Reference Low Likely unimpacted

51 High Reference Moderate Inconclusive

52 High Reference High Likely impacted

53 High Low Nontoxic Likely unimpacted

54 High Low Low Possibly impacted

55 High Low Moderate Likely impacted

56 High Low High Likely impacted

57 High Moderate Nontoxic Likely impacted

58 High Moderate Low Likely impacted

59 High Moderate Moderate Clearly impacted

60 High Moderate High Clearly impacted

61 High High Nontoxic Likely impacted

62 High High Low Likely impacted

63 High High Moderate Clearly impacted

64 High High High Clearly impacted